The major
theme of this three-week, cross-disciplinary, graduate-level
course in Optical Oceanography is the application of remote and
in-situ ocean optical measurements to ocean biogeochemistry. The
underlying rationale is that optical measurements serve as proxies
for important biogeochemical entities – including marine
phytoplankton, dissolved organics, and suspended sediment
particles. The course will provide students with a fundamental
knowledge of ocean optics and sensor technology that will enable
them to interpret optical data in context of ocean
biogeochemistry. The course is sponsored by NASA and the
University of Maine with the goal of preparing a new generation of
oceanographers trained in the use of optics to study the
oceans.

Course elements include:

lectures on the basic theory of
the light interaction with matter in aquatic environments,
inversions of ocean color remote sensing, sensor design and
function, and ocean biogeochemistry;